Business Faculty and Staff

Community College Professor

After twenty years in supply chain management in the private sector, Brian is pursuing his passion in teaching and sharing with students his love of operations management. Just prior to joining TMCC, Brian worked for Boeing as a Senior Project Manager in supplier management for the 787 Dreamliner program in Everett, WA. Other opportunities at Boeing included implementing common MRP systems across all the defense sites in North America. Brian also acted as a lean assessment focal auditing and scoring lean manufacturing practices for Boeing manufacturing sites. As a supply chain integrator, Brian was responsible for integrating with suppliers to bring parts directly to the production floor. Prior to working for Boeing, Brian was a Purchasing and Materials Manager for a scientific instrument company.

Community College Professor

Instructor | Faculty Website

Lisa Thornton Buehler holds a M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction, an MBA in Finance, and a JD. She is a self-proclaimed life-long learner, with current research interests in elder law, International Financial Accounting Standards, and federal taxation. She has been a licensed CPA in Washington State since 1990 and has an extensive “real-life” accounting background including experience in governmental, manufacturing, and service industries. Lisa taught part-time for over 20 years before accepting a full-time position at TMCC in 2014. Over the years, she has taught classes across the curriculum including courses in accounting, business, computer science, economics, English, law, and mathematics. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, playing the piano and guitar, swimming, snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, gardening, and traveling.

Community College Professor

Vanina is a native of Argentina and has lived in Reno for over twenty years. She earned her BS in Hospitality & Tourism Management, Research and Planning from the University of Comahue and an MBA from UNR. She brings to TMCC over twenty years of experience in the hospitality and technology industries and has held positions as a Hispanic Specialist, Tourism Coordinator, RSCA’s first Outdoor Adventure Manager, and project manager for a business automation company. She joined TMCC as a part-time instructor in 2016 and became the Hospitality and Tourism Coordinator in 2017 before accepting a full-time teaching and coordinator position for the Hospitality and Tourism program in 2019. Vanina is the Faculty Advisor for the Hospitality and Tourism Club and a member of the International Faculty Advisory Committee. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, biking, skiing, and all the outdoor activities this area has to offer.

Community College Professor

Tanja came to Nevada after finishing high school in her native Sweden. She earned her BA degree in Economics from UNR, with minors in Mathematics and French, and her MA degree in Economics from Columbia University. Tanja has worked in the non-profit world, and taught economics and statistics for over a decade before joining the full-time faculty at TMCC. She is a member of the Diversity Committee and the International Faculty Advisory Committee. In addition to teaching, Tanja enjoys spending time with family and friends, as well as working out, singing, dancing, and connecting with nature.

Community College Instructor

Dustin graduated from UNR with a B.A. Degree in English in 2007, and spent 9 years in the aerospace field working as a supply chain and project manager, working with a broad spectrum of clients ranging from mature operating airports in North America and Europe to the early construction phases of new airports throughout the developing world in Asia, Africa, and South America. After graduating with his MBA from UNR in 2016, he turned his career focus to Business Development and went on to be the Commercial Director for Applied Intellectual Capital (AIC), working to develop a market for their new battery recycling technology. Dustin joined TMCC as a part-time instructor in 2009 and accepted a full-time teaching position in 2022. Dustin is passionate about labor rights, environmental stewardship, and teaching ethics and social responsibility. Dustin enjoys spending time with his daughter, playing music, and exploring the outdoors.

Community College Professor

Instructor | Faculty Website

Nancy O'Neal graduated from Purdue University in 1984 with a BS degree in Industrial Management and a minor in Industrial Engineering. After working a few years for Arthur Anderson and General Dynamics, she went back to school and received her MBA from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California. She then worked for Hewlett-Packard for ten years in the Bay Area, and eventually moved to Reno in 1999. In Reno, she worked briefly for a startup-up, iGo.com and then worked for ten years at the University of Nevada, Reno in the business school teaching management classes primarily on a part-time basis. She joined TMCC in 2012 and is the faculty lead for the Entrepreneurship Program. She also teaches business and management classes.

Community College Professor

After earning his bachelor’s degree from his native Ghana, Kofi earned his MS in Marketing, MBA in Marketing/Internal Auditing, and PhD in Marketing and Business Development from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Kofi is also a Certified Internal Auditor and licensed Life Insurance producer. Prior to joining TMCC as a full-time Instructor, Kofi worked as corporate Internal Auditor for Eastman Kodak which took him traveling all over the world. He is an entrepreneur and has also taught classes in marketing, business, and management for over a decade. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, assisting developing countries to strengthen entrepreneurship education and training programs. Kofi is a life-long learner and his research interests are in consumer marketing and strategic management. Kofi is active with Toastmasters International and enjoys nature, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Community College Professor

Phil Smilanick is a certified public accountant in Nevada and has over 16 years of audit, tax and management consulting experience in a large public accounting firm environment. He has a bachelor's and master's of business administration from the University of Nevada, Reno, where he also taught for five years as a full-time lecturer. Phil has been a court-appointed bankruptcy overseer, CFO for a public mining biotechnology company and trustee for several community bank start ups. His experience is important because it enables him to teach accounting from the industry point of view, rather than as an academic. Phil attended the University of Nevada on a golf scholarship and for many years competed in local, state and regional tournaments. He is an avid motorcyclist and participates in many track days. Phil was born and raised in Reno.

Dean

Amy Williams has been with Truckee Meadows Community College since 2005 overseeing the Workforce Development and Community Education and Adult Basic Education departments, prior to becoming interim dean in July of 2017 and dean in January 2019. She has an additional eight years of experience in education with the Davidson Institute and the National Judicial College, as well as workforce development, marketing and training experience with the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation for the state of Nevada. Amy has a master of science degree in counseling and educational psychology from the University of Nevada, and a bachelor of arts degree in communications from William Jewell College.